BITU promoting ILO Convention
THE growing interest in legislation to protect Jamaicans from sexual harassment, particularly in the work environment, has nudged Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) to join with the global trade union network in promoting the ratification of binding international standards to stop harassment in the workplace.
To kick off the efforts the union collaborated with Building and Wood Worker’s International (BWI) to host a three-hour Zoom webinar titled ‘Gender-based Violence (GBV) in Jamaica: Intersections for collaboration and change, considerations for the ratification of the International Labour Organisation’s ( ILO) C190 ‘Violence and Harassment Convention’, last Thursday.
The purpose of the event was to engage in dialogue on the prevention of and remedy for violence and harassment in the world of work, and to promote the ratification of C190 in Jamaica.
Convention 190, supplemented by Recommendation 206, is the first-ever legally binding international standard for workers which deals solely with the issue of violence at work.
Around 6,300 delegates, representing governments, workers and employers from the agency’s 178 member states, including Jamaica, attended the International Labour Conference held in Geneva in the centenary year of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in June 2019.
Of the 476 delegates given voting rights, 439 voted for the adoption of the standard, seven voted against, and 30 abstained. These votes brought this historic international standard into existence.
BITU Vice-president Rudolph Thomas, one of the organisers of the event, said that it was against this background that the union is calling for the full support of all stakeholders to support the international cry for the ratification of C190 – Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No, 190).
“We believe it will adequately complement the current sexual harassment legislation which is being aggressively pursued by the Government,” Thomas pointed out.
The webinar was organised to initiate discussion on violence against women as an issue that must be addressed by social partners, as a critical part of wider social support that is needed to provide protection and support.
Among the most devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the rise in violence against women, which is being called the second pandemic, the union noted.
“Trade unions can play a critical role in the support of women who have been victims of gender-based violence, as well as in the prevention of violence against women, by working with men to address prejudices, possessiveness and aggression” Thomas said.
“Trade unions can also engage with social partners, particularly for the political